Harrison, Brinson give back, work toward future
Marlins outfielders Lewis Brinson and Monte Harrison gave out swag bags to elementary school students Thursday. Both are preparing to build off the team’s 2020 success.
Car after car passed, and all Monte Harrison saw were smiles.
Harrison, the Marlins’ 10th-ranked prospect coming off his first season in the big leagues, cherishes moments like Thursday. They give him a moment to reflect on when he was growing up in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. They let him look back on how far he has come — and how much he still has to grow.
“It’s very important just to know where I come from,” Harrison said at a Marlins Foundation toy distribution event at Gwen Cherry Park for about 120 first-graders at KIPP Sunrise Academy. “I come from the same situation as this city just in Missouri, so it’s not anything new to me. I definitely want to give back to my people and show how much I care about them.”
But Harrison and fellow
outfielder Lewis Brinson, friends since their days in the Milwaukee Brewers organization before beingdealt to Miami together in the Christian Yelich trade, took things a step further.
The duo prepared personalized swag bags that they handed out to the 6and 7-year-olds. Bats, cleats, sunglasses and T-shirts filled their station at the Marlins Foundation’s drive-through toy distribution at the school in Little Havana.
The first-graders also received candy, a ball-andbat set and a personalized gift from Billy the Marlin, who was decked out in a Santa suit and received a wish list from each child invited to the event.
“I like to put smiles on other people’s faces,” Harrison said, “just know that they’re going through here and they don’t know what to expect and what they were going to get.”
Brinson added: “We had a lot of stuff that we weren’t really using anymore that a lot of kids can use. If they can’t use it right now — it might be a little big — they can hold onto it as memorabilia.”
The duo is also looking to build on a 2020 season that ended in a playoff run with both players finding roles to help the Marlins to that postseason berth.
Brinson, platooning in right field, hit .269 over his final 33 regular-season games after seeing his batting average dip as low as .087 over his first dozen games. It was one of his first noticeable strings of success at the plate in his three years with the Marlins.
“Last season was really good for my confidence,” Brinson said. “Put a lot of hard work in last offseason and I’m going twice as hard this offseason. It’s going to be a new year next year.”
Harrison, meanwhile, went through the rookie struggles, especially at the plate. He hit .170 (8 for 47) with one home run, three RBI and four walks but struck out a staggering 26 times in 51 plate appearances. The Marlins primarily used Harrison as a pinch-runner and lateinning defensive substitute.
“It was definitely a first year,” Harrison said. “You get your feet wet, got to see what it was, and I’m definitely ready to compete next year and go win a championship.
“So, whatever that team is composed of the players on that team, it’s going to be fun.”
What is Harrison doing to get ready for next season?
“Trust in Monte,” he said. “I mean, it’s gotten me this far, so why not just keep going and keep being myself? And this organization has done a good job of letting me be myself, so
I'm just gonna continue to do that.”
MARLINS MOVES
The Marlins acquired four players as part of MLB’s annual Rule 5 Draft and traded for a fifth to cap a busy Thursday on the transaction front.
In the MLB phase of the Rule 5 Draft, Miami selected Tampa Bay Rays right
handed pitcher Paul Campbell before also trading with the Arizona Diamondbacks to acquire right-handed pitcher Zach Pop in exchange for a player to be named. Both pitchers have been added to Miami’s 40-man roster, which is now full, and were priorities for the team heading into the day.
Campbell, 25, was the Rays’ No. 24 overall pros
pect according to MLB Pipeline. He has a career 3.12 ERA through 2331⁄
3
innings spanning three minor-league seasons.
Cambell finished 2019 in Double A, where he compiled an 8-4 record with a 3.36 ERA and 63 strikeouts against 20 walks over 852⁄
3
innings in 16 games (11 starts). He sets up to be a potential long reliever or occasional spot starter.
Pop, 24, has a career 1.34 ERA in 801⁄ minor-league
3
seasons. He most recently pitched in Double A in 2019, holding opponents to a 0.84 ERA and .184 batting average against in 102⁄
3
innings before undergoing Tommy John surgery.
In the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft, the Marlins selected lefthanded pitcher Jake Fishman from the Toronto Blue
Jays organization, righthanded pitcher Dylan Bice from the Texas Rangers organization and infielder Marcus Chiu from the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.